1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a control system for several appliances in distributed arrangement, in particular lighting fittings in one or more rooms, and a method for setting such a control system into operation.
The present invention relates to an improvement of the known system and method.
2. Description of the Related Art
From EP 0 433 527 there is known a method of setting into operation a control system for several appliances in distributed arrangement, in particular light fittings in one or more rooms, which appliances contain a stored original address and, after their installation has taken place without regard to the original address, are to be controllable from at least one command generator via a common control line, having the following steps:
a) the command generator instructs all appliances to transmit their original addresses and stores these original addresses; PA1 b) one of the stored original addresses is chosen by the command generator with the command that the associated appliance should deliver an externally detectable identification signal, PA1 c) all of the appliances are externally monitored for the identification of the one appliance, PA1 d) after identification of the one appliance there is entered into the command generator an operational address associated with this appliance, which takes into account a particular grouping and/or arrangement of the appliances after the installation of the system, PA1 e) the identified appliance is selected by the command generator by way of its original address, and there is transferred to the appliance, for storage, the entered operational address, PA1 f) steps a) to e) are repeated until operational addresses have been transferred to all appliances.
The main advantage of the known control system, and of the method of setting into operation such a control system, is that the appliances--although they can be installed without consideration being given to their original addresses--can, after the setting into operation of the system, be selected in an aimed manner via their operational addresses taking into consideration various selection criteria.
However, the known system and the method for setting the system into operation have the disadvantage, in particular in the case of large buildings with many appliances, that an appliance which has identified itself--e.g. a light fitting that has been controlled to be brighter--must be sought over the whole building and there is no indication where the search should be begun, since the selection of the appliances by the command generator via their original addresses in accordance with step b) of the known method occurs practically randomly.